Device for opening and closing fu rnace-doo rs



(No Model.)

B. M. COBB.

DEVICE FOR QPENING AND CLOSING FURNACE DO/ORS'. No. 250,424.

-until they can obtain more fuel.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELNATHAN M. COBB, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA.

DEVICE FOR OPENING AND CLOSING FURNACE-DOORS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 250,424, dated December6, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that ELNA'IHAN M. COBB, ofDubuque, in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented a newand useful Device for Opening and Closing Furnace-Doors; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact description of the same,reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters ofreference marked thereon.

My inveutiourelates to that class of inventions known asoperating-doors, and is especially adapted to be used on the doors oflocomotive, marine, or stationary furnaces.

The object I have in view is to secure means by which tire-doors offurnaces, 860., can be opened and closed by foot power, thereby greatlyfacilitating the fireman in feeding his furnace with fuel. and lesseningthe injury done the fire and the heated flues of the boiler by theadmission of cold drafts of air thereon.

I have discovered, by experience, that a large amount of heat is wastedand cold air admitted on the top of the fire and against the heatedfines if the door of the engine or firebox is allowed to remain openwhile coal or wood is being secured and supplied to the fire. The mostserious matter to be considered is the injury done the fines of theboiler by the change of temperature. To avoid this, firemen, accordingto the custom now in vogue, are in the habit of opening by hand the doorof the furnace, shoveling in all the coal or wood they have convenient,and then closing the door To do away with this inconvenience I haveconceived the idea of opening the door by means of the foot,

- at the same time holding the fuel in my hand,

and immediately upon supplying the fuel have the door closeautomatically. This end I accomplish by means of the device and thecombinations hereinafter more fully described, and clearly shown in theaccompanying drawings, to which reference is made, and in which Figure 1is a perspective view of my device with the door of the furnace closed;Fig. 2, a similar view with the door open; Fig.3, a perspective view ofmy hollow tube or quarterturn piece, which is attached to the hinge-pin;Fig. 4, a view showing the arm which passes around the upper portion ofthe hollow tube and up under the latch of the door, by means of whicharm the latch is raised and the door pulled open; Fig. 5, a perspectiveview, showing the tube and arm seen in Figs. 3 and 4 made of one piece;and Fig.6, a view showing the construction of the rod and rollers bymeans of which the quarter-turn piece is raised and operated.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts throughout the severalviews.

Although my device can be used on any door whatever, for the sake ofconvenience in the following description reference will be made only tomy device as applied to the doors of locomotive-furnaces.

In the accompanying drawings, A represeu ts a furnace; B, the door ofthe same, and G the deck of the cab. Under the deck 0, I place the leverl), which is of the shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or of any desiredshape, and which has its bearings at the point G. Upon the ends of thislever, and at right angles thereto, are secured, in any desirablemanner, the rods E and F. One of these rods-viz., E, which is designedto be used as a foot-leverprojects up through a hole made in the deck ofthe cab near where the fireman stands when supplying fuel to thefurnace,.and in a convenient position for him to depress it with hisfoot while in that position. The rod F is secured to the other end ofthe lever D, and it also projects up through the deck of the cab, but innearlya vertical line with the hingepin H. Transversely through theupper end of this rod F is passed the pin 7", on which are placed thesmall anti-friction rollers h. By depressing the rod E the rod F israised. and the rollers h are thereby brought in contact with the hollowtube I. This tube I is made of any suitable material, and is of theshape shown in Fig. 3. It is securely attached at its upper end to thehinge-pin H by means'of a screwthread and nut, or in any other desirablemanner. Its lower portion is cut away, as shown in drawings,sufficiently to allow the rollers h 5 in passing upwardly into it toslightly raise it and to revolve it exactly a quarter-way around. Theupper portion of this tube is so made as to form a shoulder ofsufficient width to render the ringed portion of the arm K flush withthe lower portion of the tube when said arm is passed around and securedto said tube.

The arm K is made of wrought-iron or other suitable material, and hasone end made in the shape of a ring, which passes over and is firmlysecured to the upper portion of the revolving or quarter turn piece I.Its other end is curved upwardly, so as to form a right angle with themain portion of the arm, and is designed to pass up under the end of thehinge L and rest directly under and against the latch M.

In the above I have described the tube I and arm K as made of separatepieces, and joined together suitably. It is evident, however, that Iwill not depart from the spirit of my invention by casting or workingthem in one piece, this way, in fact, being perhaps the most de sirable.The hinges L L are fastened to the hinge-pin H and to the door-B in theusual manner, and are of ordinary construction, with the exception thatL has its end which is farthest from the hinge-pin bent outwardlysulficiently to form a guide for the arm K..

The manner of operating my device is as follows: Having procured thesupply of wood or coal, the fireman places his foot on the rod E,thereby depressing said rod. This action causes the rod F, which isattached to the other end of the lever D, to rise, and brings therollers h, secured to this rod, in contact with the hollow tube orquarter-turn piece I. This movement forces upwardly the piece I and thearm K attached thereto. The curved end of the arm K is thus brought incontact with the latch M, which it raises, thus unlatching the door. Bya continuation of the pressure of the foot on the rod E, the rollers h,attached to the rod F, are forced up higher, andv enter the cutawayportion of the tube I, which causes this tube and the arm K to revolve.This revolution brings the curved end of the arm K in contact with thelooped portion of the hinge L, and draws the door open sufficiently toallow fuel to be supplied to the furnace. Having fed the fire, thefireman removes his foot from the rod E, which causes the rod F to fall,thus releasing the tube 1, and the weight of thedoor then causes it toclose automatically.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the door B, the arm K, hinge-pin H, quarter-turnpiece 1, and rod F, provided with anti-friction rollers 1 substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the door B, arm K, hinge L, hinge-pin H,quarter-turn piece I, and rod F, provided with anti-friction rollers h,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the door B, with arm K and quarter-turn pieceI, of the rod F, provided with anti-friction rollers h, and the lever D,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the door B, provided with arm Kand quarter-turnpiece I, of the rod F, provided with anti-friction rollers h, lever D,and rod E, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 2d day of April, 1881.

ELNATHAN M. COBB.

Witnesses:

MONROE M. OADY, GEO. J. Hammer.

